Ceiling system with masking strips at panel joints

ABSTRACT

CEILING PANELS MADE OF WET OR DRY FELTED WOOD FIBER WITH A DECORATIVE SURFACE ON THE EXPOSED SURFACE THEREOF ARE INSTALLED BY STAPLING THE CEILING PANELS TO CEILING SUPPORT MEMBERS AT SPACED INTERVALS ALONG GROOVES ROUTED AT INTERVALS IN THE PANELS CORRESPONDING TO THE SPACING OF THE CEILING SUPPORT MEMBERS, AND ALONG THE LENGTHWISE EDGES OF THE PANELS. TO MASK THE STAPLES, GROOVES AND JOINTS BETWEEN THE PANELS AND ELONGATED RESILIENT PLASTIC STRIP HAVING PROTRUSIONS THEREON ADAPTED TO GRPI THE SIDES OF THE GROOVES ARE INSERTED INTO THE GROOVE. THE PLASTIC STRIP LAYS FLUSH WITH THE EXPOSED FACE OF THE CEILING PANEL GIVING THE OVERALL CEILING AN AESTHETICALLY APPEALING APPEARANCE.

P 20, 1971 E. G. LALOUCHE 3,605,368

CEILING SYSTEM WITH MASKING STRIPS AT PANEL JOINTS Filed Sept. 22. 1969mm z P2 ?4 /4o 2 2 I2 20 I4 1F 11 Z A ELIE ejizflzr is 0 m @QMWATTORNEYS United States Patent Cl. 52-460 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE Ceiling panels made of wet or dry felted wood fiber with adecorative surface on the exposed surface thereof are installed bystapling the ceiling panels to ceiling support members at spacedintervals along grooves routed at intervals in the panels correspondingto the spacing of the ceiling support members, and along the lengthwiseedges of the panels. To mask the staples, grooves and joints between thepanels an elongated resilient plastic strip having protrusions thereonadapted to grip the sides of the grooves are inserted into the groove.The plastic strip lays flush with the exposed face of the ceiling panelgiving the overall ceiling an aesthetically appealing appearance.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention This inventionrelates to a ceiling system and method for installing a ceiling.

PRIOR ART RELATING TO THE DISCLOSURE Ceilings consisting of ceilingpanels made of pressed wood fiber stapled to ceiling support membershave been extensively used in the mobile home industry and in some areasof domestic housing and commercial buildings. Such ceilings can bequickly installed with a minimum amount of labor. To render the ceilinginstallation aesthetically appealing various ways have been devised tomask thestaples used to support the ceiling panels in place against theceiling support members and to mask the joints between two or moreceiling panels. Baflle boards tacked over the joints and/or staples havebeen used as well as elongated plastic strips which are slid intogrooved tracks in the ceiling panels from one end of the panel. Bailleboards protrude from the surface of the ceiling giving an undesiredappearance. Plastic strips of the type described are difiicult and timeconsuming to install for they must be slid into a groove in the ceilingpanel from one end of the ceiling panel.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a ceiling systemwherein ceiling panels are stapled to ceiling supportmembers in routedout portions of a ceiling panel along the lengthwise edges of the paneland at spaced intervals between the ends of the panel parallel to theceiling support members. Elongated extruded strips of resilient plasticmaterial are pressed into the grooves to mask the staples and the jointsbetween the ceiling panels. The plastic strip is adapted to lay flushwith-the exposed surface of the ceiling. Gripping members running thelength of and protruding from the body of the plastic strip hold thestrip in place in the grooves. The plastic strips are easily and quicklyinserted with a minimum of effort and can be easily removed if desired.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a partial perspective viewof a section of two ceiling panels secured to a ceiling support memberby a staple, the joint and the staple being masked with a plastic stripinserted into a'slot along the edges of the panels;

3,605,368 Patented Sept. 20, 1971 FIG. 2 is a sectional View of aceiling installation as shown in FIG. 1 illustrating placement of theceiling panel relative to the ceiling support members;

FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view of a section of two ceiling panelssecured to a ceiling support member by a staple, the staple and jointmasked with a plastic strip inserted into a slot in the ceiling panels,the plastic strip being of an alternate design relative to that of FIG.1; and

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of ceiling panels secured to ceiling supportmembers.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The use of ceiling panels madefrom comminuted wood or other materials has been extensive in the mobilehome industry. Ceiling panels used in mobile homes are usually eightfeet in width and vary in length up to fourteen feet. Ceiling panels ofthis type have their exposed faces embossed or otherwise coated with adecorative coating to give a pleasing finished appearance. Ceilingpanels of this type have conventionally been installed by stapling themto ceiling support members spaced parallel to each other at regularlyspaced intervals such as 12, 16 or 24 inches. In order to give theoverall ceiling a pleasing appearance, however, staples used to hold theceiling panels in place must be masked in some manner. Also, jointsbetween two or more panels must be masked to give the appearance of acontinuous ceiling with no breaks therein.

According to this invention the ceiling panels have grooves routed inthe panels along the lengthwise edges thereof as well as at spacedintervals between the lengthwise edges of the panel corresponding to thespacing of the ceiling support members to which the ceiling panels areto be secured. For example if the ceiling support members are spacedapart on 12 inch centers the grooves in the ceiling panels are spacedapart the same distance.

Referring to the drawings reference numeral 10 indicates a ceilingsupport member to which ceiling panels 12 are secured by staples 16.Staples 16 are inserted at regular intervals along the length of theceiling panels in grooves 14 to hold the ceiling panels in place.Grooves or kerfs 14 are routed out along the lengthwise edges of theceiling panels. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 the groove 14 has a deepergroove on each side thereof connected by a shallow groove. Along theedges of the panel a portion of a groove is formed and adapted tocorrespond to the groove along the adjacent edge of an adjoining panel.In FIGS. 3 and 4 the routed out area is substantially rectang'ular inshape.

To mask the joints between the respective ceiling panels and to mask thestaples holding the ceiling panels in place against ceiling members 10elongated resilient plastic strips 18 are used. These strips have aconfiguration adapted to fit over the routed out areas in the ceilingpanel and to grip the sides of the routed out areas so that they willremain in place once pressed into position. The elongated plastic stripscan be easily pressed into place and can be removed if resired. Unlikeprior ceiling systems which utilized plastic strips which had to be slidin from one end thereof the plastic strip of this invention can bedirectly applied over the rounted out areas in the ceiling panels. Thestrips may be made of any suitable plastic material such as polyvinylchloride, polypropylene, styrene etc. Each plastic strip includes a flatbody portion 18 slightly wider than the width of the routed out areasadapted to lay substantially flush with the exposed surface of theceiling panels once the plastic strips are pressed in place. Protrusionsnear the lengthwise edges of the strips extend lengthwise, theprotrusions having barbs on their ends adapted to contact the walls ofthe routed out areas of the ceiling panels to hold the plastic strip inplace. FIG. 1 and FIG. 3 show the plastic strips prior to insertion intothe grooves and after insertion. The plastic strips have a body about0.035 inch thick with protrusions near the ends thereof approximately0.025 inch thick. The protrusions with their barbed ends are placed atan angle relative to the body of the plastic strip such that the plasticstrip is sprung into place in the routed out areas of the ceilingpanels.

To install a ceiling utilizing the above system the ceiling panels, forexample those 8 feet in width and 14 feet long are stapled to ceilingsupport members running parallel to the lengthwise direction of theceiling panels. The staples are inserted through the ceiling panels intothe ceiling support members at spaced intervals in the routed out areasrunning parallel to the length direction of the ceiling panels andcorresponding to the spacing of the ceiling support members. If two ormore ceiling panels are used the panels are butted against one anotheralong their lengthwise edges and stapled into place against a commonsupport member. Once the staples are in place a plastic strip of theconfiguration shown in FIGS. 1 or 3 is pressed into place in thegrooves. The strips lay substantially flush with the exposed surface ofthe ceiling thus giving the overall ceiling a finished appearance thatis aesthetically appealing.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A ceiling system utilizing a plurality of abutting ceiling panelswith the joints between the panels and grooves therein masked so as topresent the appearance of a continuous ceiling with no breaks therein,comprising:

ceiling support members at spaced intervals,

a plurality of adjoining substantially coplanar ceiling panels with adecorative surface on the exposed lower face thereof having routed outportions along the outer sides thereof at the adjoining edges and atintervals between the edges corresponding to the spacing of the ceilingsupport members, the routed out portions being in the shape of U-shapedrecesses 4 in the panels to receive strips of resilient plasticmaterial,

means at spaced intervals inserted through the routed out areas of theceiling panels into the ceiling support members to secure and hold thepanels to the ceiling support members, and elongated strips of resilientplastic material covering and masking the routed out areas in theceiling panels, the strips having a substantially planar body with athickness less than the depth of the routed out areas and a widthslightly greater than the width of the routed out areas, the outer edgesof the strips being feathered so that the strips, when inserted inplace, lay flush with and overlap the edges of the routed out areasthereby giving the appearance of a continuous ceiling with no breakstherein, the strips further including a pair of integral protrusionsspaced inwardly from the feathered edges of the strip and extendingupward from the upper surface of the planar body parallel to the lengthdimension thereof,

the protrusions having barbs on their upper ends adapted to contact andgrip the side walls of the routed out areas in the ceiling panels tosecure and hold the strips in place.

2. The ceiling system of claim 1 wherein the width of the legs of theU-shaped recesses in the panels is less than the width of the barbs onthe upper ends of the protrusions.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 646,494 4/1900 Jager 52-47OX2,339,865 1/1944 Larmour 52-471X 3,085,301 4/1963 Nuorivaara 52-471X3,103,710 9/1963 Fredericksen 52470X 3,393,484 7/1968 Dunnington 52287PRICE C. FAW, JR., Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 52-47l

